Razor blade sharpener



April 94Q- H. 1.. KRIECHBAUM 2,197,891

.RAZOR BLADE SfiARPENER Filed Nov. 3, 1939 T INVENTOR '22. .L J1 Tia-c2 2012227,,

AT RNEYS Patented Apr. 23, 1940 h uNi njsTAr PATENT ;RAZOR BLADE SI-IARPENER 7 Herbert L. 'Kriechbaum, Burlington, Iowa t Application N mar 3, 1939, Serial No. 302,766

This invention relates to a blade sharpener and, more particularly to 'a sharpener by use of which a blade for a safety razor may be burnished and a keen cutting edge formed; w v

One object of the-invention is to provide a blade sharpener which isnew in principle --and of simplified construction and consists -of a pair of rollers formed of hardened steel and rotat'ably mounted at free ends of the armsof aframe formed from a strip ofresilient metal; h

Another object or the invention istopro'vide a sharpener having a frame adapted to be easily held in a persons-hand between the thumb'and first finger and pressure. applied to arms of the frame to force thefarms and rollers carried thereby toward each otherinto'position-to cause the rollers to havebl'ose contacting engagement with the edge of a razor blade disposed between the rollers. Another object of? the invention is to" provide -a blade'sharpener wherein either heavy or light pressure may be applied to the cutting edge'of a tongues at its front end'-betweenwhich the rollers razor blade and agood burnishing action----take place when the blade'and the'sharpen'er are moved relative to each other longitudinally of the blade engaging rollers.

Another object of the invention is to "so form the frame that its arms will be provided with are rotatably mounted, one arm having a, thumb receiving depression or pocket causingthe arms to be firmly held in proper relation to each other and prevented from slipping from between a or thin.

thumb and finger during use of the sharpener. Another object of the'invention is to provide,

a sharpener which may be used for sharpening a razor of the open blade type or for sharpening safety razor blades which Another object .of the invention is to provide a blade sharpener which is simple in construction, very efficient and dependable and fool-proof in operation, cheap to manufacture, and of such dimensions that it may be carried in a pocket when not in use.

With these and numerous other objects in view, I

my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved sharpener; I

in Figure 4."

arms when the arms are forced toward each other may be either thick Figure 2 is a sectional View taken longitudinally through the sharpener; v 1 Figure 3 'is a" view showing the sharpener in use for sharpening the cutting edge of an'zropen blade razor; V i I w Figure! is a' similar view-showing the sharpener in use for sharpening a'safetyJraZOr blade;

' Figure 5 is a'sectional View taken longitudinally through the sharpener with its rollers ineng'agement with a blade to be sharpened; and v- Figure 6 isa view'similar to Figure 4 and 'showj ing the sharpene'r' held stationary and the blade reclprocated instead of holding the blade stationary andreciprocatingthe holder as shown This improved blade sharpener has a framed formed from a strip of resilient metal such as spring steel which is folded midway its length to form companion arms 2 andf3 integrally urlited at their rear ends by a spring portion 4;}; At its 320 ends the strip is formed with longitudinally extending tongues; located at opposite sides 'of'thestrip and bent along diagonal lines attheir-inner ends'rto provide ears 5 and'iibetween which rollers 1* of hardened steel are rotatably-mounted 5 by shafts or axles 8. The ears'or bearingmembers extend longitudinally of the arm's-from their front ends and areof such length that thei'rollers will meet one above: the. ot er: forwardly of the may be held stationary and the blade reciprocated as shown in Figure 6. The rollers are forced'toward each other by pressure applied to the two arms with the thumb and first finger of the hand 5 holding the sharpener and in order that'the sharpener may be easily heldand prevented from slipping. when pressure is applied to the arms; the arm 2 has been formed with a depressed ,c-up

shaped portion or seat l2 to receive the thumb; 50 I When sharpening a thin blade light pressure will be applied and for a thick blade greater pressure will beapplied. The first finger which extends.

transversely across the arm constitutes a backing member and the pressure is applied with the 55 cutting edge.

efficient means for carrying out the objec s thumb. Since the thumb is seated in the pocket I2 it cannot slip longitudinally or transversely of the arm 2 and the pressure will be, properly centered and the rollers maintained in direct opposed relation to each other as shown in Figure 5. When pressure upon the arms is released the resiliency of the metal strop from which the frame is formed causesthe arms to Spring apart and return to the normal position of Figure 2 which spaces the rollers from eachother. The sharpener. is quite small and can-be easily held in a person's hand when it is in use.

shelf in a medicine cabinet where it will occupy a small amount of space or it may be conveniently carried in a vest pocket. While ithas been stated that the device is foruse as as'harpener the invention and while I have particularly described the elements best adapted to perform the functions set forth, it. is obvious that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor :details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is .claimed is: I

- 1. A blade sharpener comprising a frame formed from a strip of resilient material folded midway its length to provide arms having their rear ends .united by a curved spring portion, tongues at ends of said strip extending longitudinally thereof ;in spaced relation to each other transversely of the strip and bent along -diagonal linesat their inner ends to provide bearing ears projecting forwardly from the arms, and rollers of hardened metal rotatably mounted between companion ears and, extending-transversely of the arms in spaced relation tofront ends thereof, one arm being formed adjacent its When the sharpener is not in use it may be placed upon a front end with a depressed portion constituting a thumb receiving seat.

2. A blade sharpener comprising a frame having arms extending forwardly in diverging relation to each other and yieldably held against movementtoward each, other, ears extending forwardly from front ends of said arms at opposite sides thereof, the ears being disposed diagonally of the arms and the ears of each arm extending forwardly therefrom in converging relation to cars of.- theotherarmijand rollers of hardened metal rotatably mounted between companion sets of ears and extending transversely of the arms in forwardly spaced relation to their front ends, one arm being formed adjacent its front end with a depressed portion forming a thumb-receiving seat.

3-. A blade sharpener comprising a frame having resilient arms extending in forwardly diverging relation to each other, ears projecting forwardly from frontends of said arms and spaced fromeach other transversely of the arms, and roll ers of hardened metal rotatably mounted between companion ears and extending transversely of the arms in spaced relation to front ends thereof, one arm being formed adjacent its front end with a depressed portion-forming athumb-receiving seat. H

4. A blade sharpener comprising a frame hav-- ing arms extending forwardly in diverging rela tion to each other andyieldablyheld against movement towardeach other, ears extending forwardly fromfrontlends of said arms and spaced other,,bearing s at'fro-nt ends vof said arms, and" rollers of hardened metal rotatably mounted between companion bearings and extending transversely of front ends of the arms in po-sition tomake contact with each otherwhen the arms are pressed toward each other.

HERBERTL. KRIE'CH AUM I k 

